EW! A Blog.

Annie Leonard, writer and illustrator of The Story of Stuff, will be giving the Dempsey Lecture at 7:30 pm Thursday, April 17, at Hudson Hall at Willamette University in Salem. Might be fun to carpool to this free event.

The Register-Guard has fired popular entertainment reporter Serena Markstrom Nugent, and according to an email sent out by her former colleague, Bob Keefer, her friends and colleagues will be convening to wish her well today at 3:30 pm on the sidewalk in front of the R-G at 3500 Chad Drive. Markstrom Nugent will be going to the R-G to collect her personal items from her desk.

EW is going to go out on a limb here and say this well-wishing is going to be more of a protest and will be heading out there to cover it.

The R-G has lost many of its experienced long-time reporters over the past several years. Readers may have noted that Markstrom Nugent hasn't been writing about entertainment lately, as she did for most of her 13-year stint at the R-G. She was moved off entertainment and began covering a rural Lane County beat. That move surprised many of Markstrom's readers — she has built a following for music and entertainment through not only her stories, but via frequent social media posts on Facebook and Twitter as well as her blog. Moving writers to beats they are unfamiliar with is often seen as a strategy to get rid of experienced, higher-paid writers and replace them with newer reporters at a lesser pay scale.

According to social media posts, Markstrom Nugent, who is pregnant, was fired for checking her email while on medical leave.

Is it the pauses? The hand gestures? The awe at colors making white light? Watching astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil DeGrasse Tyson in slow-mo, thanks to a science-loving YouTuber, is like talking to a dude with dreads at Saturday Market.

Gawker reports Tyson thinks the video is funny, and showed it at a lecture this weekend.

"Senator Wyden’s comments on Jordan Cove show an unfortunate lack of understanding about, and appreciation of, the environmental and social costs of the project. Oregonians who recreate on the public lands and waters crossed by the pipeline, or private landowners who would have their property taken for the benefit of a few rich foreigners, know better. We hoped Senator Wyden would as well."

“This announcement is exactly what Coos Bay, North Bend and America need: new jobs and new investment, while factoring in a changed geopolitical landscape through a case-by-case process.

I urged DOE to consider this application without delay, and I am pleased the department decided that Jordan Cove deserves to move forward.

Priority one for me has always been ensuring American jobs and employers see the full benefits of the natural gas renaissance. The Department of Energy must monitor markets closely and be prepared to adjust course should any threat to American jobs or energy security emerge.”

Jordan Cove’s terminal was approved to export .8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. The project must now receive approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before beginning construction. Jordan Cove is the seventh LNG export application to date approved for nations without free trade agreements with the United states.

Press release of the day goes to DOGAMI, for cheerfully mixing spring break with earthquake and tusnami advice. Don't just get ready for a trip this spring break, get ready for disaster!

BE READY FOR AN EARTHQUAKE, WHEREVER TRAVEL TAKES YOU

News Release from Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries

OREGON - Exploring Oregon during spring break? Take time to plan for an earthquake or tsunami before setting off on your adventure.

"A Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could happen anytime - even during vacations," says State Geologist Vicki S. McConnell. "Plan now to be ready no matter where you are."

March is Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Month in Oregon, and also marks the anniversaries of two eye-opening disasters for the state: the March 11, 2011 Tohoku, Japan earthquake and tsunami and the March 27, 1964 Alaska earthquake and tsunami.

"Oregon's tectonic setting is a mirror image of Japan's," says Yumei Wang, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) geotechnical engineer. "The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami showed us how destructive a Cascadia earthquake and tsunami could be, and emphasized the need to prepare."

Preparing for a major Cascadia earthquake also gets Oregonians ready for other types of earthquakes. The most damaging Oregon earthquakes of the past century, the magnitude 6.0 and 5.9 Klamath Falls earthquakes and magnitude 5.6 Scotts Mills earthquake, were caused by shallow crustal faults.

WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?

The Oregon Coast: A Cascadia earthquake will generate a tsunami, so know where high ground is and how to get there. The Oregon Tsunami Clearinghouse, www.OregonTsunami.org, is a one-stop resource for all essentials, including evacuation brochures, evacuation route maps, and preparedness kit checklists.

A city: If you're outside, move to an open area. Glass, bricks and other debris may fall from buildings, and utility poles and wires, signs, and street lights may topple. If you're inside, "drop, cover and hold on" under a study table or desk, and don't go outside until the shaking stops.

The mountains: During an earthquake, move away from cliffs and steep slopes where debris may fall, or a landslide may occur. Be alert for falling rocks and trees.

Road trip: If you're driving when an earthquake hits, stop the car away from buildings, bridges, overpasses, trees and utility lines. Put your parking brake on, and stay in the car until the shaking is over.

BEFORE LEAVING HOME

- Create a travel version of your emergency plan. Identify an out-of-state relative to check in with during a disaster. (Be sure to choose someone who's not traveling at the same time.) Pick a safe meeting place at your destination - consult evacuation brochures and local maps - and make a plan for reuniting after a disaster. "Having a conversation about who you'll call and where you'll meet is an easy step that's so important," says McConnell. "Discuss as you're packing, or when you're all in the car together."

- Build an emergency kit for your car. Include necessities such as bottled water, high-calorie snacks, first aid kit, flashlight, road maps, emergency contact list and emergency cash. Checklists for car, home and personal kits are available at www.oregongeology.org/sub/emergencykit.htm

Want to understand the history of Crimea better? One scholar writing on the topic this week is John Quigley. The below essay can be found on the Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law, see http://wkly.ws/1ph

The current situation in Crimea can of course be analyzed from the standpoint of use of force under international law, but other aspects merit attention as well. In particular, if one approaches the situation from the dispute settlement angle, one can ask what the appropriate status of Crimea should be.
Crimea occupies a strange posture because of its history. It is territory that originally was populated by the Tatars, who were then overtaken by migrating Russians starting in the eighteenth century as the Russian Empire extended its reach southward. The Tatars regard the Russians much as the indigenous peoples of North America regard the Europeans who came to their territory and took it over. That relationship suffered even more during World War II. Because the Tatars harbored resentment against the Russians, the German invasion seemed to many Tatars a favorable development, but the response of the Soviet Government was to exile the Tatars en masse to Kazakhstan.
Nonetheless, Crimea was part of Russia through the nineteenth century. Because of its position on the Black Sea, it provided an ideal location for harboring Russia’s Navy. When the Soviet Union was formed in 1922 it was within what became the Russian republic of the USSR. Then in 1954 it was transferred into the Ukrainian republic, which may have been thought to make sense geographically. The population remained, and would remain, predominantly Russian, however.
When the USSR broke up, Crimea’s status became a hot button issue. The population feared losing its connection to Russia. If they were now foreigners as far as the new Russian Federation was concerned, what would happen to their pensions? Would their children be able to attend Russian universities? At that period the Ukrainian government welcomed back the Tatars. Grateful to the Ukraine, the returning Tatars provided a reason for Crimea to continue to be affiliated with Ukraine.
The parliament of Crimea declared Crimea to be independent, but then a status of autonomy was created for Crimea within Ukraine.
The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe became concerned that the fears of the Russians of Crimea over what they regarded as the anomalous presence of Crimea within an independent Ukraine might lead to hostilities between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The High Commissioner of the OSCE for national minorities undertook consultations by way of preventive diplomacy. Focusing on the possibility of a special status for Crimea within Ukraine, the CSCE appointed a three-person group – two lawyers and one economist – to facilitate dialogue between the authorities of Ukraine on the one side and Crimea on the other. I was one of the lawyers.
In my exchanges with officials of the Crimean parliament, I was constantly pressed to know why self-determination did not apply to Crimea. The sentiment of the population was rather clearly against a continued affiliation of any kind with Ukraine. Yet at the time, the Russian Federation did not seem prepared to engender the hostility with Ukraine that would ensue if the Russian Federation were to encourage Crimea to separate from Ukraine and become a part of the Russian Federation.
The recent changes in Kiev seem to be bringing into greater prominence a Rightist element organized around the Svoboda party. This element is not well disposed to Russians, instead insisting on strong Ukrainian nationalism. It was doubtless this element that prompted the Ukrainian parliament to nullify a 2012 Ukraine law that had given minority languages official status in regions of Ukraine where they are spoken. Under the 2012 law, Russian had been designated an official language in sectors of eastern Ukraine, and in Crimea. The nullification of the 2012 law came just after the parliament voted Victor Yanukovych out of office as president and seemed that it might poise Ukraine on a trajectory that would result in discrimination against the Russians of Ukraine. That move frightened the Russian speakers in Crimea. It was also a challenge to President Vladimir Putin, to whom the Crimeans look for protection.
The language issue, moreover, had implications for Russia-Ukraine legal relations. Russia and Ukraine have a Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership, dating from 31 May 1997. In Article 12, “The High Contracting Parties guarantee the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious identity of national minorities on their territories and shall create the conditions for the encouragement of this identity.” That clause was inserted at Russia’s insistence, precisely to protect Ukraine’s Russian speakers. The 2012 law was later restored when Ukraine’s new president vetoed the parliament’s action, but the veto came too late to allay the fears of Russian speakers as to the direction of Ukraine’s new government.
The existence of this treaty clause makes Ukraine’s treatment of its Russia minority an issue that implicates the treaty rights of the Russian Federation.
The Russians of Crimea see themselves as being in a posture not unlike that of the Albanians of Kosovo, as that group perceived itself, in 1999. That situation led to military intervention that secured separation. While differences may to be sure be found between the two situations, the Russians of Crimea do, in the main, fear for their future within Ukraine.
The Crimea parliament voted on March 6 to separate from Ukraine and to join Russia. It in fact indicated that the separation is effectively immediately. Nonetheless, it has scheduled a referendum vote for the population of Crimea for March 16. The ballot will ask voters to choose whether to join Russia, or to remain in the autonomy status in Ukraine under the Ukraine constitution. The vote may well go strongly in favor of affiliation with Russia. The Government of the Russian Federation has not indicated whether it would accept Crimea, but in the Russian Duma, parliamentarians are indicating they will address the issue.
The majlis – the legislative body representing the Tatars of Crimea – has indicated it does not recognize the recent actions of the Crimea parliament as legitimate. The Tatars may boycott the referendum. They oppose affiliation with Russia. If Crimea does affiliate with Russia, the Government of Russia will need to move proactively to assure the Tatars that their status will be protected.
Affiliation with Russia, if it comes about, is likely to be regarded by the Western powers as a product of Russian aggression. They might deem the affiliation invalid, an outcome that could result in uncertainty as to Crimea’s status and potential difficulties for its inhabitants.
Self-determination is a concept whose implementation in the international community has been inconsistent. Given the history of the territory, the population of Crimea has a plausible claim to self-determination. If Crimea remains within Ukraine, it may be an irritant between Russia and Ukraine for a long time to come. It could well be to the interest of Ukraine that Crimea affiliate with Russia. The Government of Ukraine does not see the matter that way, to be sure. It regards the action of the Crimea parliament and the scheduled referendum as unlawful under the Ukraine constitution. It will also point out that Russia has agreed to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Whatever the outcome, it is important that the Western powers, Ukraine, and Russia all refrain from regarding the Crimea question through the lens of geopolitics at the world level. The issue should not be whether President Putin or President Obama emerges a winner. The focus should be on the welfare of the population of Crimea.

This video promotes a specific mutual fund at the end, but there are others that can help you divest from fossil fuel industries that contribute to climate change. We got this video from EnvironmentOregon.org.

Another busy road repair season is under way in Eugene. Here's the latest press release from city Public Works on which streets are to be avoided:

Wildish Construction began mobilizing equipment on Goodpasture Loop in north Eugene late last work and work began Monday on sidewalk access ramp installations and repairs. The sidewalk work will be followed by a pavement overlay the full length of the loop and some reconstruction work in the commercial area on the north end of the loop. Work on that project is projected to be completed by mid-May.

Crews from Eugene Water & Electric Board, Northwest Natural and other utilities have been working for months to adjust their utilities before the City begins its road work. One stretch that's recently been under construction by EWEB is 13th Avenue from Garfield to Washington streets. That road repair project is scheduled to begin in mid-April and will include reconstructing much of the existing roadway.

Total preliminary estimated cost of the 17 street projects is approximately $9.5 million. The primary sources of funding for the street repair projects are the bond measure to fix streets approved by Eugene voters in 2012 and Eugene's local gas tax.

In addition to road work, a variety of bond-funded pedestrian and bicycle improvements will be constructed, and work will continue on the Amazon Creek stabilization project between Chambers and Arthur streets. In the parks category, renovations are planned at Amazon Park and Spencer Butte Summit Trail.

Local residents are encouraged to follow the progress of projects that may affect their travel routes. To get more details about Eugene projects planned for 2014, visit www.eugene-or.gov/pwprojects or follow EugenePW on Twitter. For regional traffic updates, including LTD's west Eugene EmX project as well as projects by ODOT, Lane County, Eugene and Springfield, go to www.keepusmoving.info.

The "I Am T-Pain" tour rolled through Eugene last Thursday night to a sold-out audience at Studio 44. The Grammy award-winning singer showed up around 11, did a quick meet and greet, pre-funct a bit, then took the stage for a hits-heavy set packed with his own material and collaborations.

The Eugene School District and the Eugene Family YMCA are moving forward to consider if the Roosevelt Middle School site could also be the Y’s future home.

Superintendent Shelley Berman is recommending that the Eugene School Board initiate a public process to consider whether to sell, lease or trade a portion of the Roosevelt Middle School site to the Y. The district is planning to replace Roosevelt Middle School by constructing a new school west of the current building. Once the older building is removed from the southwest corner of Hilyard Street and East 24th Avenue, the district could either convert the area to soccer fields or offer up to seven acres to the YMCA for recreation facilities.

“Roosevelt and the YMCA could be great next door neighbors,” said Berman. “We both see advantages for our students, families and the community. It’s now time to put this idea on the table for both organizations.”

The Y provides youth activity programs in schools throughout Eugene as well as at their south Eugene facility. “We have long partnered with the school district to help kids be healthy, active, and engaged in positive and enriching activities,“ said Julie Grossman, associate executive director for the Y. “Moving forward with plans to replace our aging facilities will ensure that the Y can continue that mission and expand services to kids and families for years to come.”

Initial design concepts for a new Roosevelt Middle School building will be presented for community comment at a public meeting Tuesday, April 1 from 5:30-7 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Some options will show a footprint and parking for a new YMCA while other options will show soccer fields instead. A YMCA facility would be compatible with current PL-Public Lands zoning of the property.

In the coming weeks, the Eugene School Board will consider expanding the criteria used in deciding whether to sell, trade or lease district property as well as whether to move ahead to offer property to the Y. A public hearing on the proposal to offer a portion of the Roosevelt site to the YMCA will be scheduled for May 7 and the school board will make on decision on May 21, under the timeline that will be presented at the Wednesday, March 19 school board meeting. The terms of any sale, lease or property exchange would then be negotiated, however, both parties expect to discuss the parameters for such an agreement over the next two months. A final agreement could be ready for school district and YMCA approval in June.

Lane County horse owners have been worrying ever since the news began to filter out on social media over the weekend that a horse in Pleasant Hill had died of equine herpes virus. The state veterinarian has issued a press release saying there is no indication the virus has spread beyond the stable where the EHV-1 cases were first confirmed. EHV-1 does not yet have a fully effective vaccine and can be fatal to horses; it is not transmissable to humans. A 2011 outbreak at a cutting horse competition in Utah spread to 88 horses in six Western states.

Lane County horses test positive for Equine Herpes Virus

March 10, 2014... One Lane County horse has died and four others from the same stable have tested positive for a neurological form of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1). All horses on the property have been quarantined and those showing symptoms of the disease are being treated. There is no indication that the virus has spread to other horses beyond those being quarantined. The State Veterinarian is praising quick work by local veterinarians and Oregon State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (OSU-VDL) in detecting the virus quickly and taking steps to limit any spread.

“At this point in time, the investigation shows that this is an isolated incident confined to the animals now under quarantine,” says State Veterinarian Dr. Brad LeaMaster of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. “Equine veterinarians in the state are well aware of this virus and are trained to take the proper steps when a horse is showing symptoms.”

LeaMaster says the horses in Lane County exposed to the virus have not been moved from the property in more than two months, well before EHV-1 was detected.

EHV-1 is not transmissible to people. The virus is naturally occurring and widespread in the equine population. It is a common virus that may lie dormant for long periods of time and then re-activate during a period of stress, which can result in clinical disease. EHV-1 can cause respiratory disease, abortions in pregnant mares, neurologic disease, and, in severe cases, death. The most common way for EHV-1 to spread is by direct horse-to-horse contact. The virus can also spread through contaminated equipment, clothing, and hands. Symptoms include fever, decreased coordination, nasal discharge, urine dribbling, loss of tail tone, hind limb weakness, leaning against a wall or fence to maintain balance, lethargy, and the inability to rise. While there is no cure, the symptoms of the disease may be treatable.

There are 10 horses at the Lane County stable, with four of them confirmed as having the virus. The horse that died had originally been purchased from an owner in Benton County. The previous owner has been contacted and reports no signs of illness in any of their horses.

“The Lane County stable owner and all horse owners have been very cooperative and supportive of the disease control actions taken” says LeaMaster. “A neurologic EHV-1 diagnosis certainly gets the attention of equine veterinarians and horse owners. We have had occurrences of the disease in Oregon in the past. I’ve noticed what seems to be a higher degree of awareness of the EHV-1 disease with horse owners than there was just a couple a years ago.”

Concerned horse owners are strongly advised to contact their veterinarian if they have questions and to develop an appropriate prevention plan, including vaccination. Vaccination must go hand-in-hand with the use of best management practices. Horse owners should practice basic everyday biosecurity to protect their horse(s) from being exposed to this virus as well as other highly contagious pathogens.

Veterinarians are asked to call the State Veterinarian’s Office with any suspected cases of EHV-1.